The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don

Not only did the Bears win with Todd Collins completing nearly as many passes to his opponent (four) as he did to his own team (six) while getting 2.0 YPA, they won by 17 points! Carolina is just plain brutal right now, with possibly the worst QB situation and WR corps in football. DeAngelo Williams’ fantasy value has really taken a hit as a result…Don’t give up on Johnny Knox just yet, as he should be worth using with Jay Cutler back in the lineup and as the Bears’ clear No. 1 wide receiver…Should be interesting in Week 6, as the shaky Chicago offensive line takes on a Seattle front seven that has quietly produced one of the best pass rushes in the NFL this season…In Week 5 Matt Forte more than doubled his rushing yard total over the first four games combined.

Terrell Owens is suddenly on pace to finish with the most receiving yards of his career. And he’s doing so with a quarterback who’s gotten just 6.6 YPA and is struggling mightily…Dez Bryant looks likely to be a future star, but there’s little doubt Mike Williams is the rookie with the most fantasy value in 2010. And maybe even long-term as well…Forget my previous advice to pick up LeGarrett Blount, who was completely lost from last week’s game plan. Not sure why Tampa Bay wouldn’t give him a chance to ignite such a stagnant running game, but coach Raheem Morris doesn’t seem willing to do so, at least for the time being.

Watched “The Town” the other day and liked it. The final 20 minutes fizzled, but it was actually really good until then. Jeremy Renner (who’s from “The 209” like yours truly) steals every scene he’s in. I still need to see “The Social Network.” It actually doesn’t interest me all that much, but it got a ridiculous 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and more importantly, David Fincher directed it, so I’ll check it out soon.

Hated to see Mark Clayton suffer a season-ending injury. What a devastating loss both to the Rams and to his fantasy owners. He was shaping up to be one of the biggest waiver wire steals of the year, and St. Louis’ offense came to a halt after his departure. Danny Amendola is the obvious add in PPR formats, but those in deeper leagues searching for WR help, take a flier on Brandon Gibson and/or Mardy Gilyard…Calvin Johnson just can’t stay healthy. What a shame. And Matthew Stafford sure seems like a slow healer as well…Jahvid Best hasn’t scored since Week 2 and continued to miss practice time with his turf toe injury this week, but it’s encouraging Detroit gave him 18 carries Sunday – a season-high. With an upcoming bye in Week 7 to heal, don’t rule out a big second half.

I must say, I didn’t see that Giants’ blowout coming. I still worry about the team committing too many turnovers on offense, but that defense is back to playing like an elite unit. Suddenly, New York is in the argument as one of the best teams in the NFC…If you need tight end help and Owen Daniels is sitting on your wire, now might not be a bad time to add him. He’ll get better as the year progresses and don’t forget, he was on pace to finish with 80 catches for 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns before suffering the knee injury last season…After recording 12 catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns (he easily could have had four), Hakeem Nicks is now in the conversation as a top-five receiver – both in real life and in fantasy leagues. Nicks dominates targets inside the red zone, yet he’s also explosive, and while he had a couple of drops Sunday, his hands aren’t a problem, as he also made some terrific catches as well. Nicks is on pace to finish the season with 106 catches for 1,309 yards and 19 touchdowns. While those lofty TD numbers aren’t realistic, he’s more of a “hold” than a “sell-high.”

Adam Carolla’s take (not mine): “I don’t like all the pink breast cancer NFL crap. We should force the chicks in the WNBA to wear brown head bands for colon cancer.” Speaking of which, got to love Boomer.

Facing a Ravens secondary that entered having allowed an NFL-low 5.2 YPA and just one passing touchdown on the year, Kyle Orton threw for 314 yards (8.3 YPA) and two touchdowns last week. While some of that came in garbage time, he’s officially matchup proof. Start him with confidence this week against a Jets defense that has allowed 7.0 YPA (tied for 15th in the league) and nine scores through the air (tied for fifth most) with a gimpy Darrelle Revis. Also, don’t be shocked if the Broncos pull off the upset with New York having a letdown and traveling during a short week…Any window to buy Ray Rice low is now long gone. Not only did he look completely over his knee injury while getting 4.9 YPC Sunday, but Rice appears to have taken over goal-line duties as well. After Willis McGahee was stuffed, Rice easily converted both his attempts from the one-yard line, which is huge news moving forward. The Ravens’ schedule looks favorable from here on out, so fantasy owners should enjoy the ride…Baltimore’s secondary still doesn’t have a single interception this season.

The drop off from Seneca Wallace to Jake Delhomme was dramatic, and Colt McCoy having to face the Steelers’ defense in Pittsburgh this week is a mismatch of epic proportions. The Browns’ offense needs Wallace to get healthy in a hurry…Michael Turner is up to 4.5 YPC on the year, and after scoring 27 touchdowns over his previous 27 games since joining Atlanta entering the year, he has just one TD in 2010. It’s a fluke – expect the touchdowns to start coming in bunches, making him a possible target in trade talks this week.

Consider me pumped up.

Peyton Manning finished last week with a 65.0 QB rating, getting just 5.5 YPA with a 0:1 TD:INT ratio. I feel bad for Washington’s defense playing him in primetime Sunday night…Dwayne Bowe dropped multiple passes last week, one being a sure touchdown. It’s nice that he seems to finally have coach Todd Haley’s confidence, but maybe Bowe just isn’t any good. Forget stardom, it’s now worth questioning if he’s even a league average wide receiver…Jamaal Charles totaled 100 yards last week for the third time in four games this season, but the bigger news was his usage, as he saw 19 touches compared to just eight by Thomas Jones. It’s past due, as Jones has averaged just 3.9 yards-per-touch compared to 7.4 by Charles. In fact, Charles’ 6.5 YPC leads the NFL by a wide margin. He did lose a fumble, which is cause for concern for someone who’s dealt with ball security issues in the past, but the hit was brutal, so it wasn’t a negligence issue. All it would take is 20 touches per game for him to be a top-five fantasy back. Try to trade for him now before it’s too late…Speaking of Charles, Dan Dierdorf called him a “change of pace” Sunday – and he’s right, the pace changes from slow to fast whenever he enters the game over Jones.

The Bills have now allowed five touchdowns to tight ends this season. Only one other team has allowed as many as four…Looks like Deji Karim is the new handcuff for Maurice Jones-Drew owners. Speaking of MJD, while he’s disappointed, been constantly banged up and has a pretty tough schedule coming up, he actually makes for a solid “hold” or trade target for fantasy teams off to strong starts, as Jacksonville’s schedule in Weeks 14-16 (Oak, @Ind, Was) appears to be extremely favorable against the run…Don’t look now, but Ryan Fitzpatrick has a 10:2 TD:INT ratio over his past four games, dating back to last season.

I thought this commercial was pretty funny. And then this one took it to another level.

What a tough Week 5 for the Packers, whose overtime loss was compounded by multiple injuries, with none bigger than the loss of Jermichael Finley. My condolences to all Finley owners out there…Is Mike McCarthy just a bad coach, or what?…I’d still start Ryan Torain this week at home against the Colts, but one stat was misleading in his matchup versus Green Bay. The Packers entered having allowed 5.2 YPC – the second highest mark in the NFL. However, that number was greatly skewed by Michael Vick, who ran for 103 yards on 11 carries as a quarterback GB wasn’t prepared to defend. Washington’s offensive line has problems, but credit a strong performance by what looks like a tough Packers’ run defense for shutting down the Redskins’ ground game Sunday.

Pretty insane that the Cardinals put up 30 points without recording a passing or rushing touchdown Sunday. Max Hall is plenty raw, but he was an immediate upgrade over Derek Anderson. Maybe Larry Fitzgerald’s fantasy value can be salvaged after all…Marques Colston is on pace to finish with 918 yards. And he’s yet to score a touchdown this season…Even at his own 20, you know Sean Payton’s decision to punt down 10 points on 4th-and-2 was wrong because essentially everything that followed went perfectly: a three-and out by Arizona, then a six play drive resulting in a touchdown by New Orleans, then another three-and-out by Arizona (including an inexplicable pass play by the Cards with 50 seconds left when the Saints had zero timeouts), which led to the Saints getting the ball at their own nine-yard line with 10 seconds left down three points. Payton apparently believes he had a better chance at recovering an onside kick (and forcing two three-and-outs on defense) than gaining two yards on offense…Chris Wells managed just 1.8 YPC Sunday, but the opportunity given to him could be huge news moving forward. Wells saw 20 carries compared to just four for Tim Hightower (who was even worse with a 1.5 YPC mark), as he took over lead back duties. It’s worrisome Wells was so unsuccessful while playing at home against a mediocre Saints defense, but he should emerge from the team’s Week 6 bye fully recovered from his knee injury and with valuable practice time running with the ones under his belt. A struggling passing attack limits his upside, and he seemingly always disappoints, but the Cardinals benefit from an easy schedule, and Wells does possess talent, so there’s some upside here if he’s finally given a full workload.

The Cowboys might be the most confounding team in football, capable of beating any team in the league and also losing to a doormat any given Sunday. A coaching change here can’t come soon enough…With Justin Gage sidelined with a hamstring injury, Kenny Britt has been given the chance to shine, and he didn’t disappoint Sunday, catching four balls for 86 yards and a score, which marked the third straight week he’s reached the end zone. A dominant target in the red zone, Britt is easily the most talented receiver on Tennessee’s roster, and it appears he may finally be out of coach Jeff Fisher’s doghouse. This is still a run-first team, but Britt is clearly Vince Young’s No. 1 option in the passing game, and there’s no reason he shouldn’t remain in the starting lineup indefinitely, regardless of Gage’s health. Britt should be owned in all fantasy leagues…The Cowboys coaches made good on their promise to get Felix Jones more involved in the offense in Week 5, as he saw 19 touches compared to six for an ineffective Marion Barber. Considering Jones got 7.3 YPC versus just 3.2 for Barber, there’s reason for this discrepancy only to grow moving forward. Dallas lost Sunday, but the offense produced more than 500 yards, so getting Jones on the field certainly helped. It remains to be seen if he can stay healthy with an increased workload, but Jones immediately becomes a viable flex option with his new role, with the potential for much more.

New albums by Sufjan Stevens and Kings of Leon both seem to be worth checking out.

Antonio Gates has scored in nine straight games dating back to last season and has hit paydirt a whopping 13 times over the past 11 contests. He’s on pace to destroy all his previous career-highs this season…I’m beginning to think the Chargers’ special teams is a below average unit…Where did that come from, Jason Campbell?…I rank Malcom Floyd as a top-12 fantasy WR right now (I’d take him over Greg Jennings), but all bets are off if Vincent Jackson returns soon like recent reports suggest. I got that one way wrong. I didn’t think he’d come back this year…According to Pro Football Focus, San Diego has had by far the worst pass blocking in the NFL so far (the Jets have had the best), which makes what Philip Rivers is doing (9.6 YPA!) all that more impressive.

I’ve been to both 49ers’ home games this season and have witnessed nine turnovers over two games. I’m not an Alex Smith apologist, but I’ve never in my life seen a crowd turn on a player like that. Even if Smith is a D+, that doesn’t mean you make a switch if the alternative is an F (David Carr). After Vernon Davis talked Mike Singletary out of making the switch (and also talked Smith into fighting to stay in), it was pretty cool to watch them hook up for a sick 36-yard connection followed by a touchdown, as Smith nearly led the team to an incredible comeback over the final eight minutes. Of course, San Francisco ultimately lost, but at least they made it interesting (and covered the back end of my teaser by a half point)…Kevin Kolb played really well Sunday, and it looks like the Eagles are in capable hands until Michael Vick is ready to return. LeSean McCoy looks like the real deal too. This Eagles team is absolutely loaded with young talent, especially at the skill positions – they should continue to be playoff contenders for years to come. Remarkable…Michael Crabtree finally broke out in Week 5, as he nearly doubled his reception and yardage totals over the first four games during Sunday’s outing, and the TD was his first of the season as well. The 11.7 yards-per-catch wasn’t overly impressive, but Crabtree clearly has talent, and hopefully this is a sign of big things to come. Finally he and Alex Smith appear to be on the same page, so Crabtree should be a fantasy asset moving forward (assuming the team doesn’t switch to Carr, ostensibly in an effort to secure a high pick in next year’s draft. In that case, bring on Andrew Luck!).

Randy Moss’ fantasy value really had nowhere to go but up after joining Minnesota, but Percy Harvin may be the biggest beneficiary of all. He’s just so much better suited in the slot. Start him with confidence moving forward…The Jets have tied an NFL record with four straight games without a turnover…Calling a pass play with the two minute warning approaching is actually the right call, but what was Mark Sanchez thinking hiking the ball with so much time left on the play clock?…Think Brett Favre regrets not retiring right about now?